I Thought You Were
by Only If You Wish It
Summary: Elena decides she isn't really in love with Stefan and seeks Damon. How will Stefan take this new information? Is it too late for her to go to Damon? Is it too late to admit that he was perfect for her? That he was right all along about him and her?
1. Preface

**Okay I got a request for another Damon/Elena story, so here it is. It may not be a one-shot. I don't know. Depends if people like and want me to write more. **

_**Preface**_

I stared into the eyes of who would be my potential killer. Had someone told me that he would be my demise a few weeks ago, I never would have believed them. However, now was not then. What used to be is never more. I will never be his again and for that he's going to make me pay. My only hope is that _he _will find happiness. I know, pathetic. I can't even think his name, but in these last few days, I've learn what I could have, no, _should_ have chosen. I know him well enough from these past weeks to know that he dwells on nothing; he will be fine. He'll find someone else.

My killer took a step towards me, baring his fangs. He was much older than me and much stroger. Maybe he would make it quick, less painless. He took one more step to me and then his eyes flashed with a wild, untamed red light. He ran to me with speed I couldn't follow, and clamped down onto my neck, sucking the life out of me. I couldn't with hold the cry of pain from my lips.

"Stefan, no!" I heard from somewhere behind my killer. His voice was sweeter than what I remembered.

_I'm sorry Damon, _I thought to him with the last of my strength. _I really did love you. _Then I faded into the black, unfeeling, unseeing, and unhearing. Forever cold...

**So, what you think? This is just a preface, otherwise I would have made it longer. Please R&R if you want me to continue. **

**~Only if you wish it~**


	2. I Just Can't Live A Lie

His cold lips pressed against mine. I had to force my eyes to close, so he wouldn't expect anything. Instead, I imagined another set of arms around me, pulling me to him. Another set of lips pressed tenderly against mine. But it was too late. That ship has sailed and I had chosen not to go with him.

I opened my eyes when he removed his lips, forcing a smile. Is this what my life has come to? Faking everything, even to the man I was suppose to love?

"Shall we go hunting, love?" His voice shattered my inner battle. I gave another forced smile up to those forest green eyes.

"Of course." And with that, we took off.

I easily caught my prey, a rabbit. A small creature but I had hunted recently, so I was not too thirsty. I drank a little from it before releasing it. It looked dazed for a moment before taking off, towards its family.

I looked around for him. 'Guess he went off looking for bigger prey.' It had been a while since Stefan had hunted, so he would take a longer. I could still taste the rabbit's blood on my tongue. All those years ago I had to have been blinded to not to notice just how bland it tasted. I fought to not make a disgusted face.

I got up and began running through the woods, trying to find Stefan. Better I find him than he find me. Plus it gave me something to do and, well, with the way my thoughts were going, I needed something to distract me. I guess it was pure luck that there were no humans around. Otherwise I might end up breaking Stefan's disgusting animal diet. Again.

I sighed and then I smelled Stefan's scent. I followed it to find him in a small clearing, just releasing a doe he had fed off of.

He looked so at peace. I wish that I could love him like he deserved to be loved but I just couldn't.

I stepped into the clearing and he smiled at me. A genuine smile, not a fake like the one I returned to him. I suppose it was lucky that I was good at pretending. Or maybe it wasn't.

He got up and dusted the dirt off him. He walked over to me and engulfed me in his strong embrace. I had to fight back the guilt that wanted to surface. The tears that wanted to come out. I couldn't live like this anymore. I knew this. He stepped back and took my hand, continuing to smile that beautiful smile of his.

He led me back through the woods, to our home. Or as much of a home can be to one as me. I thought that you could be yourself when you were at home, but not me. If he ever found me crying, as I wished I could, he would wonder why and would worry. I wouldn't be able to give him a logical answer, so I held it all in, slowly getting more and more depressed.

The only escape I had anymore was my dreams. In my dreams, a handsome, black-eyed man would come and sweep me off my feet. He would dance with me as we had all those years ago in my dreams, back when I was still human. And when I still had a choice. In the end though, it was always the same. He would leave as a crow. Even in my dream, the pain was still there. It was becoming more and more painful as the dream repeated itself. I would be so happy in the begining, and then so miserable in the end. Yet even though I knew how it would end each time, I still loved to have the dream. Glad to be able to remember him, to remember his midnight eyes that looked like he was looking into your soul. His straight hair that was so similar to his brother's, yet to different. The lithe way he walked, like a stalking panther just barely under control. The power that I could feel coming off of him whenever he was close to me.

I shook my head, clearing my head of those thoughts and stepped in the shower. I robotically washed my hair and washed off my body. I stepped out of the shower and got dressed into a slimming dress. It could double as a sleeping gown, should Stefan not be asleep yet.

I walked into our room relieved to see that he had already gone to bed. Good, this would make this so much easier than having to wait for him to fall asleep.

I quickly and quietly stuffed some of my clothes into a bag. I put a couple more things that I couldn't dream of parting with, such as my diary. I had continued to keep a diary, though most of my entries were few and far between. Also they were beginning to get more and more depressing. I couldn't even read over most of the things I'd wrote, simply for the fact that I would break down.

As I stood in the doorway, I took one last look at him. I felt the tears begin to come up and I had to look away and wipe them from my eyes. I set my bag down and quietly tip-toed over to the bedside.

I leaned down and kissed him very softly on the forehead, trying to keep the tears from spilling over and waking him.

Then I quickly picked up my bag and left, closing the door quietly.

Once outside, I began to run, going much faster than any human. I probably would even rival a car.

Just before the house left my sight, I gave it one last look.

"I'm sorry" I said to the wind. "I just can't do this anymore. Goodbye...Stefan." Then I turned around and ran from the life I used to have. Only to be opened up to a much more vibrant, exciting lifestyle.

**So, what do you think? Sorry that this seemed so depressing but I wanted to get across that she doesn't want to hurt Stefan, but she also can't continue to live the lie that her life has become. I would also like to clarify a few things. **

**1) Matt, Bonnie, Meredith, and all of their other human friends will not be in this story. It's not that I don't like them; they just don't fit with the plotline. **

**2) Elena is a vampire. Stefan finally broke down a changed her and they've lived together for, oh lets say a few years, like maybe ten. Yeah ten works, I mean they are vampires now, ten years would be a rather short time for an immortal. **

**3) Elena does dream of Damon. She misses him, more than she figured she would. She hasn't realized that she is in love with him yet, though. Or is she going to be at all? She just knows that she misses him. A lot. Enough to bring her to tears. **

**And finally **

**4) Stefan does not know that Elena is unhappy. He doesn't know at all. Doesn't even suspect it. I mean, we all know how good Elena is at pretending and hiding stuff, so I figured it would make more sense if Stefan had no clue that Elena was unhappy. Think about how he'll feel in the morning. I can't help but feel a little bad, but I'll get over it.**

**Please R&R!!!! I need encouragement if I'm going to continue this story! Really I need it for the sake of the story. Otherwise I'll get bored and think people don't like it, so please, for the story's sake, not my own, press the blue button. Thank you. **

**~Only if you wish it~ **


	3. Used Too

As soon as I left Stefan's house, I went into town. That meager rabbit that I had had was not holding me up. I needed human blood. Lucky for me, there were still a few humans out on the town. I scanned a few faces and settled on an old broad who was wearing an outfit that was way to revealing.

She walked down an alleyway, looking for someone I suppose. I walked up behind her, my shadow casting in front of me, covering her in its darkness. She turned around and looked me in the eyes. I bared my fangs at her and lunged for her neck. She didn't stand a chance. I made sure that I didn't drink too much and then I laid her against the side of the alleyway. Just before I left I put it in her mind that she had had too much to drink and had passed out in the alleyway.

After the meal, I walked around, wondering what I was going to do.

Testing out my new powers, I turned into a white wolf and ran around into the forest. It was exhilarating, running around, so free. I felt happier than I had been in forever. After an hour, I came to a steep cliff. I ran to the end and howled to the midnight moon, letting myself go.

_Elena?_ I heard a voice speak into my mind. I whipped around, looking for the owner. Out of the woods stepped a black wolf. I could feel the immense power emanating from it. Wait, black wolf? Could it be…

_Damon? _I asked. Though it wasn't as clear as when he spoke in my mind, I was sure he could hear it.

In an instant, Damon stood where the black wolf had just been. I switch back into my human form as well.

"Hello Damon. It's been awhile." At first I thought I actually saw some feeling behind his depthless eyes but he quickly put on his arrogant mask.

He looked around disdainfully, giving off an aura of annoyance. "Elena." He acknowledged at last, "I assume my little brother is somewhere close." He looked back at me, looking into my eyes and I couldn't look away.

"N-no, he's not." His eyes practically bore into mine, like he could see all the way to my soul. It awoke a weird feeling. A feeling that I had never felt it before. "He's at his home."

"Don't you mean_ your_ home?"

"I meant what I said."

Damon was quiet again, just looking at me. "You smell like human blood."

"And?"

"You've been drinking it." It wasn't a question but I chose to treat it like one.

"Yes."

"I don't think little brother would approve."

"I don't care what he thinks any more." At that Damon's eyes widen ever so slightly. Had I been human, I would've missed it.

"Oh really? And why it that?"

This time it was me who was quiet, trying to think of how to word it.

Damon took a few steps toward me until he was right in front of me, his nose almost touching mine. I felt my heart speed up slightly. Damon was definitely stronger than me, but yet my heart wasn't speeding up in fear. I wondered, briefly, what he thought was the cause of my overactive heartrate.

He was quiet for a few moment. Then he said, ever so quietly, "You aren't in love with Stefan anymore, are you?" I softly nodded, unable to find my voice. "Why is that? I thought you two were a match made in heaven?" He seemed to gain more and more malace and sarcasm with each word.

"I just don't love him anymore." I answered, just below a whisper. _I_ even had to strain to hear it. I know that had he been any further away, vampire or not, he wouldn't have heard it.

Damon was quiet again. This time for a longer. Then he stepped back away from me. As he did, I let out a breath that I didn't recall holding. "You're running away from him, correct?"

"Yes."

"Where do you plan on going?"

I paused. "I...I don't know. Just somewhere else I guess."

"So it doesn't matter where?"

"No, I guess not. Why do you ask?"

He ignored my question and turned around. He began walking into the woods. "Bye Elena. Have fun on your wherever quest." Then he disappeared into the forest.

I don't know what led me to do it but I rushed after him, running to where he had just disappeared. I could feel his power, I just couldn't see him. "Damon?" I called. No answer. "Damon?" I took a deep breath. "C-can I come with you?" There was a small gust of wind and then I felt a presence behind me.

"You know, you shouldn't let your enemies get behind you." I heard whispered into my ear. I turned around quickly, scanning for the owner of the voice.

"Looking for someone?" I turned back around to see Damon standing there. He gave me one of his half a second smiles.

"You're not my enemy." I said. Even though I thought it was impossible, his eyes darkened even more. His head lowered slightly, his bangs covering his eyes halfway. He smirked.

"You shouldn't assume things either, Elena." I shuddered as my name came off his lips. So silky and smooth, it drove my senses wild. I fought to remember my original question, his dark eyes capturing mine.

"So can I?" I managed to say breathlessly.

"Can you what, exactly?" Damon said. I could tell he was enjoying this little game of back-and-forth.

"Can I come with you?"

"Do you even know where I'm going?"

"No, but I told you I don't care. I'd much rather travel around with someone who has a destination than wonder around alone."

"If I remember correctly, wasn't it just a few years ago when I offered you something similiar to this and you declined? I'm not too fond of giving second chances...Elena."

"_Please_, Damon?" Okay, I guess I never realized how much I needed someone around me. I had always had someone and I guess now that no one was here, I felt lonely.

"I don't really have a particular destination. I never do. Plus, I was under the impression that you hated me. You know, trusted every single word that came out of my little brother's mouth, wanted to kill me, never wanted to be caught alone with me, scared I was going to attack you. That about cover it?"

I looked away from his eyes. He had guessed perfectly. Actually, when I thought about, he most likely hadn't had to guess. I had wanted to kill him, I had never wanted to be alone with him, but now I just didn't want to be alone and he was the only person who would be able to keep up with me. There was some comfort just in knowing that I knew him, sort of. I knew that he was arrogant, sarcastic, cold, cruel, powerful, and would even kill without batting an eyelash, but I had glimpsed the more caring side of Damon. And, well, I could deal with everything else if he would just let me follow him, somewhere, anywhere, just as long as I wasn't alone.

"I did feel like that. Exactly like that, but now I just don't want to be alone. I'm not cut out to be a loner."

Damon let out a laugh. Something I had never heard before. It sounded…well like almost void of all emotion except for a hint of arrogance and sarcasm. "You want to travel with me because you don't want to be lonely?" Damon stopped chuckling but his eyes still held his previous humor. "I probably _hate_ company as much as _you_ crave it."

That stung. I turned my back to him. I had never been told that someone didn't want me. Stefan had in the beginning but he had gotten over it. I had pushed him and he had eventually caved.

Damon was another story however. All those years ago, Damon had asked me I don't know how many times to come with him but I had refused time and time again. Each time I had gotten angrier and angrier at him, despising him for trying to take me away from Stefan. Now, whenever I was ready to accept his proposal, he declined. He had gotten over me. That's what hurt. He didn't want me and I knew that he wasn't lying. Damon didn't lie. He never had and he probably never would. I couldn't make him do anything.

Well what did I expect? I couldn't have every guy kneel at my feet. I felt a tear slide down my cheek. "Never was another gust of wind and then I heard nothing. He had left and he wasn't coming back. He didn't care that I needed him now; he didn't care that I was crying; he didn't care that he had hurt me. He didn't care anymore. There was a time when Damon _might _have cared. But that was a long time ago.

I fell asleep on the forest floor that night. I didn't even bother to wipe the tears from my eyes because more and more kept coming.

**So, what do you think? Elena left Stefan, Damon doesn't want her. What is she going to do? Please R&R! **


	4. When Life's Better than Your Dreams

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I wasn't alone. And that I wasn't in the forest.

As I moved slightly, the sleeping figure behind me woke up. They removed their arm from around my waste and I sat up. I was in a large, rather comfy bed in a extremely large room. There was a large TV on one wall and a few dressers and such that most bedrooms came with, but it missed that homey feeling. Like it was just temporary, so whoever stayed here wasn't even going to bother trying to even make it a home.

I yawned and stretched my arms out, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I felt someone's eyes on me and I continued to take in my surroundings. I over my shoulder to see who my company was, and froze. Giving me his famous arrogant smirk and laid quite comfortably on the bed was Damon. He stared at me with his midnight black eyes. For some reason, I felt fear crawl itself in me. I shuddered and Damon smirk became more pronounced. Then, everything was a blur.

Damon lunged at me. He teeth suck deep into my throat. I screamed. Louder than I ever have. The pain was unbarable! I felt the pain of my blood being forcibly taken from me for the first time, and I hope it was the last. Damon began to shake me. Rocking me back and forth. He removed his teeth from my neck and began to say my name over and over again, shouting it actually. I felt everything fade to black.

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"Elena! Elena!" I opened my eyes to come face to face to death black orbs. I felt the shaking recede a little. "Elena." This time Damon said it like he was relieved. I thought I even saw the begining of a smile before he quickly locked it away with his mask.

"Damon?" I said it unsurely. My dream from earlier had me quite shaken.

"Elena, are you okay?" Damon said this indifferently.

"Yeah I think so." I looked at my surroundings. I was still in the forest. And, more surprisingly, I was in Damon's arms, my head sort of resting on his shoulder. "Damon?"

"Yes?"

"Where am I?"

"In the forest."

I glared at him, but it lost whatever power it might have when my fae broke into a soft smile.

"What I meant to ask, is why are you here?"

"No you didn't. You asked what you wanted to ask."

I felt my face flush a little. "Well, I was a little disorientated, okay? I had a reason besides, that would have been my next question. So?"

"So what?" he flashed me one of his half-second smiles and I felt my breath catch a little. Funny, Damon had never seemed to have this affect on me.

"You're avoiding the question." I said.

"So what if I am?" he said, looking at me, as if daring me to question him again. I did.

"It's a simple question Damon. Why can't you answer it?"

"Now that's two questions."

"Two questions what?"

I felt his lips right next to my ear. "Two questions that I won't answer." he whispered. I shuddered but not out of fear. In fact, I don't really know what came over me.

I heard Damon chuckle slightly as he helped me stand up. I wobbled before, embarrassingly, falling into Damon's chest. He, with his perfect reflexes, easily caught me and helped me steady myself.

I saw him smile at my inability to stand. I stuck my tongue out at him, though I don't know why because all that did was make him laugh. Just as he had done yesterday, but it was different. I could hear the difference. Like there was less....I don't know, hatred? in it.

When he stopped laughing, I decided to ask him a different question. "So does the fact that you're here mean that you'll let me travel wherever with you?" I waited nervously for his answer. He looked at me, not showing any signs of a yes or a no, like he was thinking it through, though I'm sure he's already thought about it and will tell me the answer just as soon as I'm close to insanity.

Finally I saw that hint of a smile again and I knew what the answer was. "I suppose. As long as you don't slow me down."

I smiled and, I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I hugged Damon around his waist. He was taken aback by my surprise attack on him but he loosened up a little after a minute. _Well, at least he didn't push me away._

As I continued to just rest against Damon, not releasing him from my death hug, I felt his fingers begin to comb through my hair. Though there were who knows how many tangle in it, he actually made it very gentle and I could feel him getting all of the twigs and dirt and everything that was in it out.

After what felt for a long time, Damon finally spoke again. "You know, for heading nowhere, we really are making progress."

I laughed a little and I felt his chest vibrate with his silent luaghter. I pulled away from him then, slightly missing the warmth that his body had provided.

"So where to boss?" I said, mock saluting him. He glared at me for a minute and at first I thought he was mad at me, but then his eyes lightened a little. "You're a lot better at that than I am." I mumbled.

"Years of practice. Now I suppose you have something else to wear. That just won't do anymore, what with all the tears and stains now on it."

I through a glance down at my gown and , sure enough, it was torn beyond repair and had all kinds of dirt and grass stains in it. "Yes I have a few other clothes."

"Then lead on." Damon said, sweeping his arm to the forest around us, his eyes light with humor. I set of at a slow sort of run with Damon by me the whole time.

I felt the wind blow my hair back behind me and I closed my eyes for a minutes, loving the feel of the wind against me. Sooner than I thought we would, we got to my forgotten bag in the bushes. I quickly looked through it until I settled on a pair of dark jeans a a dark blue shirt. I don't know what had led me to pack them but I was happy I did.

As I was just about to undress, I looked to see Damon looking at me quite intensely with a smirk on his face. He met my eyes and gave me a half smile, not at all sorry or embarrassed for getting caught trying to peep at me. Well I mean, I had been just about to change in front of him but he could of at least turned around, not lazing against a tree looking at me with something that looked like hunger in his eyes.

"Could you turn around?" I said.

Damon smirked. "But where would the fun be in that?" Never the less, he turned around, facing the other direction as I changed, which I did quickly. I put the gown back into the and was about to sling it over my should when Damon stopped me.

"It's annoying to have to bring luggage. We can just buy you whatever you need whenever we get wherever we're going." I felt a thrill go through me when he said 'we'. I know it was completely irrational but it was also involuntary.

"That's a lot of things to have to fill in." I pointed out.

"Which we will fill in, at some point." I rolled my eyes, and he smiled a little, then he started walking about towards town.

"Wait. Where are you going?" I said, trying my best to keep up.

"To go get my car. We have to have some sort of transportation. It hard to travel as an animal all the time and still retain your human qualities." I rushed to try and keep up with him. He walked so fast!

"Is that what happened to you?" I mumbled. "Did you stay a wolf for too long, just changed back and found out that you suddenly hated humanity?" I not sure, but I think I saw him wince at that. I must of imagined it though. Damon Salvatore? Wincing? Yeah right!

**So, Damon came back. Do you love me or do you love me? I know, it's so hard to chose but I would chose to love me cause, well, I control the outcome of this story. Muah Haha! : ) Anyways, please review! I want to know how you likey!**


	5. Planes, Letters, and Thoughts

**Okay sorry about how long it took me to update I've just like, been super busy, it usually doesn't take me this long to update.**

**ANYWAYS, I'm sure you all want to read the story so here is the next chapter ******** Don't you love me? ******

Damon drove quite quickly and even with me being a vampire I was terrified.

"Um, Damon, could you, um, I don't know, slow down a little?" I asked sheepishly.

He smirked at me. "Well we wouldn't want to be late for wherever we're going would we?"

"Where is that exactly?"

"I don't know. Where do you want to go? I'm rather fond of Italy and France myself."

"I've never been to France." I said, remembering the trip to Italy that Stefan and I had taken a few trips back and he had showed me his old house, which was amazingly still standing. It was actually a museum now, so a lot of people had messed with Stefan's and Damon's stuff but otherwise, it was still like they left it, as the oldest building still standing. The Salvatore Mansion. I guess they're dad had known how to build a strong house.

"France it is!" Damon said. Then he seemed to calm a little, now that we had a destination, the aura in the car wasn't as anxious. It was a nice relief.

We got to an airport and Damon gave the attendant some bill so that she would get us on the next plane to France. Damon, of course, had to bring his Ferrari but we still ended up on the next first class trip to Paris, France.

"You know how to flaunt your money around, that's for sure." I mumbled to Damon as the plane took off.

He smiled an arrogant smile. "Yes, well, would you rather have waited at the airport for however long it would have been? Besides, when you're immortal, a dollar equals a lot less than when you are a mere human."

I rolled my eyes at his logic, suddenly very tired. I tried to lean back in the seat but it was only more uncomfortable. I sighed.

"Something wrong?" Damon whispered in my ear as the flight attendants turned off the over head lights. Not that it affected Damon or me, we could see just as well in the dark than as we could in the light. Actually we could probably see better without the glaring lights or sun.

"Can't get comfortable." I whispered back to him. I could see him smirk in the darkness as he leaned against the window in exaggerated comfort and yawned. I glared at his show and he only smiled bigger. "Jerk." I mumbled, leaning back in my seat again, readying myself for a long, uncomfortable, annoying trip.

Damon didn't try to make conversation and he actually didn't say anything after that, instead he just leaned back against my side of the seat and went to sleep. Or I think he did, he might have just been faking it.

After he had been still and silent for about ten minutes, I felt it was safe to assume that he was asleep. So, very gently, I laid my head on his shoulder and quickly went to sleep.

**Damon's P.O.V.**

"Jerk." I heard Elena muttered. Then she leaned back into the seat, trying to go to sleep. I rolled my eyes even though she wasn't looking at me. She'd never get comfortable as much as she was wiggling and squirming. I figured I'd give her a pillow at least.

I leaned against her seat and closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. I didn't make a sound. I waited and eventually, I felt her set her head on my shoulder, very gently.

_She thinks she'll wake me up. _I thought of the absurdness of that. Even if I had been asleep she still would have woken me up, vampire have an extremely sensitive sense of touch.

After a few hours, a flight attendant began to turn the lights back on, while Elena continued to sleep. **Alright, I don't know how long a trip to France from the U.S. is since, you know, I've never been there but I'm guessing around eight or seven hours. Please forgive me if I'm wrong.**

"Sir, We'll be landing soon. You should wake up your wife." A flight attendant said to me. She smiled.

"Very well, but she's not my wife." I said, though it was a pleasing fantasy. I wouldn't go down that road again though. She had already told me what she thought of me and I wouldn't let her know that I was still slightly interested in her. Of course I had to be, even she had to of guessed that. I wouldn't have came back had I not been worried about her, crying in the middle of the forest. There's no clue what could have gotten her. Or who, I thought, thinking of my little brother. There's no telling how he'll react to his special Elena running away from him because she doesn't love him anymore. Running away with his hated brother none the less. I smiled at the thought of how my brother would look right now if he saw Elena sleeping on my shoulder. It would be torture.

I shook off the evil thoughts of my brother and shook Elena gently. "Elena." I whispered in her ear. "We're about to land."

"Five more minutes, Aunt Judith." She said, wrapping her arms around my arm and hugging it to her. What does she think I am, a teddy bear?

"Elena." I said again, shaking a little more roughly. She opened her eyes and blinked at the bright lights.

"Oh, Damon, hey." She said nervously. I eyed her arms, still wrapped around my own and she quickly let go. "S, s, sorry. I was just tired and well you looked……." She trailed off her voice but I thought I would tease her a little.

"What, I looked, comfortable?"

She hung her head, trying to hide the blush that fell on her cheeks. **Does anybody know if the vampires in Vampire Diaries can blush? I mean, I was just wondering, cause well, I want my facts to be straight.**

"Anyways, we're almost there so you need to get ready for landing." I said, letting her off the hook. I guess I kind of missed the warmth that her body had provided whenever she had been hugging my arm, or even when she had had her head on my shoulder.

Get over her, Damon! I mentally yelled at myself, though it did as good as it usually does. All it did was temporarily keep my thoughts from wandering to her. Elena was so beautiful. How my brother ever even gained her attention I'll never know. I bet it was his self-loathing. Girls always seemed to be suckers for the one who blames themselves for everything. Even if he had nothing to do with it, my little brother would find some way to blame himself. Even when we were humans and I would argue with father, he would blame himself. He really was an idiot sometimes. **Okay, I like Stefan fine but well, this is Damon thoughts, he still loves his brother but brothers can call each other idiots sometimes. Plus I love Damon more so ha ha Stefan!**

We landed quickly and I got my car. Then we quickly left to go check into some hotel, that I would completely forget the name of.

**Stefan's P.O.V. (you know you want it )**

When I woke up in the morning the first thing I noticed was how cold the sheets were.

"Elena, love?" I asked, stretching and opening my eyes.

Elena wasn't there. What the-? Where had she gone? I got up and threw on some clothes, not caring what I was wearing. Then I smelled for Elena's scent. It was faint, as if she hadn't been here in a while.

I followed her scent out to the forest surrounding our house and then I found one spot where it was strongest. She must have been here for while, I deduced.

Then I smelled the other scent. It smelled familiar but…….No! It couldn't be! What in the world is Damon doing here? I followed both his and Elena's scent for it seemed that they had gone the same way, but no, Elena wouldn't have gone anywhere with him. She couldn't have!

They I found where their scent stopped. In the same place I smelled gasoline. They must have drove off, but Elena wouldn't have gone with Damon! She just couldn't have! Why would she leave without telling me? It just doesn't make sense!

I ran back to our house, trying to figure out what was happening. I ran everything through me head one more time.

1) Elena didn't sleep here last night; in fact I think she ran away while I was asleep.

2) I think she left to go somewhere with Damon.

I have absolutely no idea what's happening. I mean, the only reason I could come up with that Elena would leave with Damon would be if she didn't----

I stopped that train of thought before it continued too much father. Elena loved me, I think. I don't even know anymore! What did I do? Did I turn her away? Make her want my brother? But what did I do? I can't think of anything, other than how distant she's been, but I figured that was just normal. Ugh, this is so aggravating!

I sat on our bed and held my head in my hands, utterly and completely confused. I looked at Elena's side of the bed and then I saw it. A letter with my name on it in her beautiful script. **Also, I don't think Elena left him a note in the first chapter, but I was ready fro Stefan to figure this all out and this was the only way I could think to do it, so please don't sue me for adding this. PLEASE! **

_Stefan,_

_I'm sorry, but I just can't live this lie anymore. I'm sorry but I just don't love you anymore. There's nothing you could have done and well, I just don't deserve you. It's not just that, but I feel like there's a distance between us, like we were never meant to be. Please don't blame yourself, because I know how you love to blame everything on yourself. This is all me. Goodbye………………………………_

_Elena_

I stared at her writing. This couldn't be happening! It just couldn't! Why didn't I see this coming! Ugh!

Then I thought of what she had said. _Alright Elena._ I thought to no one particular. _You don't want me to blame myself, fine. How about I blame you. I'll blame you for all this rage and pain. And I'll make you pay. I promise you, if I can't be happy and have you, than no one else can either. Especially not Damon._

**So what is Stefan thinking? Kind of homicidal if you ask me, but then again, I've never been in those peoples' so I don't really know. Anyways, please review and once again, sorry it took me so long to update. Hope you likey!**


	6. I'm Bad

**Okay okay okay, sorry its been so long. I've been reading the Eragon books, then the new VD book came out (and it was awesome by the way) and our teacher gave us a competition to see which class can read the most books so I'm going crazy to finish all of them I can (ain't y teacher awesome?) and then I had two projects due last week that I hadn't started on. So now that I have all my excuses out there, I figured I would let ya'll have another chapter. What ya'll think? Like my judgment? Thought so. :) How you enjoy!**

**Stefan P.O.V**

I had no idea where Damon would go. He probably didn't know where he was going himself, so how in the world was I supposed to find him? Well, if Elena was with him, I thought, he probably let her pick where they go. Or maybe not. I could be wrong but it's the only lead I have.

After what seemed like forever, I managed to track Damon's car to an airport parking lot. Or the trail ended there. There was no car. _He and his conceited self probably took it with him. Now to figure out _where_ he took it; that would be the hard part._ _Or maybe not, _I thought to myself, noticing the female flight coordinator. _If she saw Damon, she would remember. _

"Miss?" I asked, walking over to her. She smiled and I could only guess what was going through her mind.

"Weren't you here and few hours ago?" she asked, smiling like she had known that Damon would come back for her. _Idiot human._ I thought than I shook off the thought, I was turning into my brother. Great, just great.

"Uh, no. That was my brother. Do you know where he was headed?" I asked in the nicest voice I could manage. I really didn't want to have to use my powers on her and she seemed nice enough.

"Oh uh, yeah. He was with a blond chick, right?"

I tried to keep the growl from erupting from my chest but she certainly heard the malice in my voice when I said, "Yes, that was him."

Her eyes turned fearful. I tried to ease my expression. If she was scared of me or scared that I might hurt Damon, which I wasn't going to do; I was just going to kill him, not hurt, she might not tell me where they went.

"H-h-he w-ent t-t-t-t-to uh…….Italy!" she finished loudly. She was scared, crap. That meant he probably _didn't_ go to Italy. Well that's _one_ place not to look for them.

"Look," I said quietly, leaning over the counter and putting the full force of my eyes on her. She stared at me like she was in some sort of trance. "I _really_ need to find my brother. He stole something of mine." Or some_one_ and she did go willingly so technically he didn't kidnap her either. "Can you _please_ tell me where he went?"

"Um, uh, what?" she looked around confused. Crap again, I used too much.

"Where did my brother go?" I repeated, trying to hide my annoyance. She was really getting on my nerves.

"Huh, brother? What, oh yeah, brother. Um, his name was Damon, right?"

"Yes." YES ALRIGHT I GET IT! YOU KNOW HIS NAME, NOW WHERE'D HE GO! Ugh, I wanted to shout, yell, cuss, and quite frankly, strangle this girl. I shuddered when I thought that that's probably what Damon would do. Either that, or suck her dry, and I wasn't about to do that.

"Um, one moment." She did some typing on her computer and than turned her attention back to me. "I can't release personal information unless you're family or we get information."

"I'm his brother." I could practically see my hand wrapping around her throat and slowly taking the air from her lungs.

"Can you prove that?"

I felt my hand start to shake with rage. I didn't want his phone number or anything information about him, I just wanted to know which country he flew to! "Yes. His last name is Salvatore. He was born in Italy. He arrogant, sarcastic, annoying, evil, dark, a womanizer, and probably wanted in every country. He's probably the most dangerous person you'll ever meet and the last if you make him mad. And he's run off with my fiancé, who probably went willingly though I can't prove that yet, since I'm still in the denial stage. So, that enough proof or do you want more?"

She stared at me in horror. I smiled at her, knowing that it probably looked to her like I was daring her to not tell me what I want. Which I was but still, I found it slightly ironic. Damon's with Elena and probably not as evil as he used to be, while I'm slowly, well not that slowly since I just found out this morning, turning into what he's always been. I wouldn't be surprised with by the next time I see him, I'm hyped up on human blood. I might even make him pay for all those times he's humiliated me, what with taking my blood and all. I growled lowly at that thought and the counter girl looked even more terrified.

"Um, uh, sir? Are you alright?" Her hand started to edge below her desk, probably to push some security button. _Great, just great_. I sent a wave of my power over her mind, freezing her movements. I through a couple of looks around, no one was looking at us, good.

"Can we go talk somewhere more private?"

"Yes." She began walking from behind the counter, placing a 'use next counter' sign on the desktop. I smiled at the power I had over her. Even though I've drank animal blood since well I was made, my recent feeding of Elena's blood still gave me more power than I usually had. Therefore, manipulating this girl was a piece of cake.

She walked to some dead in hallway. There was practically no lighting. Prefect. She turned around and I smiled the most genuine smile I manage at the time. It was enough. She smiled back and I wrapped my arms around her waist, nipping at her neck. She leaned her head back, humming slightly. I smiled as it gave me better access to her neck. _Idiot, _I thought again but this time it didn't feel like I was turning into my brother. As I bite down into her neck, it felt like I was finally doing what I was meant to do. I was a predator, I had just denied it. Now, as her blood rushed into my mouth, I realized how naive I had been. _This must be what Damon feels like. Having so much power over these weak, simple-minded humans._ I stopped after a few minutes, just before she passed out. She leaned heavily against me, breathing hard.

"So where's my brother?" I asked again, a little humor in my voice. Her blood hadn't been as sweet as Elena's but I could definitely feel the thrum of new power in me.

"He went to France, with the blond. Didn't even look at me, always staring at her." She rambled on about how she was so pretty and about how I was better looking and such. She was really getting annoying so I sent a wave of my new power at her, knocking her out. I laid her on a bench, _someone will find her, _I thought.

I went to another ticket counter, bought a first-class ticket to France and within about half-an-hour, I was headed to France, trying to form a plot about how to figure out which way Damon went once I got to France.

**I realize this chapter is pretty short but hey, I like it. However my opinion doesn't matter, so please, review. Please let me know if there's any spelling mistakes too. Thxs!**


	7. My Savior in More Ways than One

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the VD characters.**

**Elena P.O.V**

When we got to France and Damon had retrieved his 'precious' car, we headed out, just driving.

I can honestly say that being around Damon was _way _different that being around Stefan. I guess it might have just been the thrum of power that never wavered from around Damon, but it seemed different than that. More deeper. With Stefan, I had felt safe, but yet I also felt the need to talk. The need to fill in our silences, the need to do something. In other words, uncomfortable. With Damon it was totally different though. We barely talked on the way out of the airport but there was no pressure or tension in the care to talk. Also, Damon didn't only make me feel safe, he made me feel wild. Like I could do anything I wanted and no one could get in my way. Maybe his power was just making my high or something but it was definitely different than when I was with Stefan. Way more comfortable.

Damon went to some high-class hotel that only super stars would be able to afford and parked right in front of the door. He got out and I followed suit. Then he tossed his car to some guy that was waiting for the keys. "There better not be a single scratch on it when I get it back." Damon said threateningly. The man gulped and shook his head vigorously. As the man drove away with Damon's car, I walked up by Damon and heard him chuckle under his breath.

"That was mean and unnecessary." I said.

Damon just gave me a smiled. And not one of his half-second smile. This one last for at least five seconds. "Yeah, but it's funny. Humans are pathetic and, utterly, annoying."

"Except when you need a meal, right?" I asked.

He smiled again but this one was more of smirk. "Or a night of fun." He corrected, walking into the hotel lobby. I suddenly felt sad at his comment but I waved it off. It was nothing. Damon was Damon. He wasn't going to change. No chance of that happening. Never. Ever. Period.

I followed Damon to the elevator. Then we went up to the top floor. The elevator opened up to about a ten by ten space with a single door. Damon scanned the keycard and held the door open for me, like a genuine gentleman.

I gasped as I walked inside the room. Or I should say house. There was a kitchen, and not just a small little half kitchen, this was a kitchen with a fridge, stove, and the works. I kept walking and saw the living room. There was a flat screen hanging on the wall with a couch facing it. There was only one other door though and I looked at Damon, throwing my confused look at the door. He shrugged.

"They only had one-room apartments. I'll sl-" Then he seemed to catch himself and he didn't finish his statement. I wondered what he was going to say as I walked over to the room and opened the door.

After about an hour, me and Damon ended up on the couch, watching…….something. I really wasn't paying attention. I had noticed a burning in the back of my throat a while ago when we had gotten here and it had only gotten worse with time. I tried to occupy myself with the blacks and whites of the rooms but it didn't help. I knew what I was feeling.

I looked over at Damon, who was lounging against the armrest, one leg hanging off the couch and the other almost touching me, even though I was huddled on the other side of the couch. I threw a look out the window, noting the setting sun.

"Sun's setting." I said, breaking the silence that had been between us for I-don't-know-how-long. He threw a lazy look out the wall of complete window behind him and then looked at me.

"You're thirsty aren't you?" he asked casually.

I nodded.

He nodded as well, though it was more of a knowing nod instead of an answering nod. "I figured."

"How?" I asked, wondering how he could have come to such a solution.

"You've been sitting on edge since we've gotten here and you haven't exactly loosened up any. You've also been alternating between watching the sun, watching the clock, and tying to distract yourself with the rooms."

"Oh." was all I said. I guess I had never really thought Damon was that smart. In fact, I had never really tried to get to know Damon at all. All I knew was that he was arrogant and drank human blood but for all I knew, he could be someone totally different than what I thought he was. It all depended on whether or not he had a mask on all the time or not, which I thought he did have. Everyone wears a mask at some time; I just think Damon wears his _all _the time. I wonder if he even knows who he really is anymore.

The sun finished setting and Damon got up. "Ready?"

"For what?" I asked lamely. Damon gave me a look. It wasn't really like a stupid look, more like a _'you're kidding' _look. I got the message. "Ugh right, yeah. Sure. Yes." He gave me another look but before I could figure out what that one meant, he looked away and walked to the door. I got up and followed, my thirst making me not care about my clothes or the way my hair looked. I just wanted blood, now.

When we were downstairs, instead of antagonizing the poor boy to go get his car, Damon just started walking down the sidewalk. I had to run to catch up, he walked so fast.

"Where are we going?" I asked, walked beside him. He threw me a smile.

"Isn't it obvious? You need some blood and I wouldn't mind a couple sips of it myself. Where would you go?"

"I don't know. I've never hunted humans per say."

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about my idiot brother's diet. We're going to a club. That's where all the humans are at night. Well either that or tucked in their bed, safe from the evil monsters." He smirked evilly at the last comment.

"Ah." I said, looking down at my feet. I felt kind of embarrassed. I was continually making a fool of myself by asking the stupidest questions and by giving the stupidest answers. He probably wished he left me on the side of a road somewhere. Or maybe he wishes he never picked me up in the first place? I don't know.

"It's the thirst." He said quietly. I looked at him and saw him looking at me. I guess I looked confused because he clarified. "When you're really thirsty you get kind of stupid in a way. It makes reactions slow and thoughts even slower. That's why you're asking all the stupid questions."

"But how'd you-" He cut me off.

"Here we are." I looked up to a neon sign. There was a line forming behind some bouncer guy but Damon ignored the line. He walked right up to the bouncer and the next thing I knew, he was letting me and Damon pass. Damon must have influenced him, I thought as I passed him.

The inside of the club was way wilder than any club I'd ever been in before. The music was blaringly loud and I saw a lot of bodies grinding together in their drunken states. It was only about ten but most people were already drunk and they continued to drink. Others who weren't drunk were well on their way but over the entire scene was chaotic and crazy. I followed Damon as he walked over to a relatively quiet spot by a wall, and he casually leaned against it. He lazily ran his eyes over all the humans in the club and then pointed to one.

"How about him?"

I looked at who he was pointing at and saw some blond guy. He was clearing drunk and asking the bartender for another whatever he'd been drinking. He was having trouble standing already. I shrugged.

"Is drunken blood good?"

"Do you really care right about now?" Damn pointed out and I realized that I really didn't care. I was already drooling.

"He'll do." I said. Damon nodded. "Now what do I do?" I asked, feeling like I should know the answer but I couldn't grasp it in my head. Maybe I was drunk?

"You bring him somewhere where you can drink his blood without causing suspicion. I usually either take them to my apartment or to some alley if I need it quickly."

I nodded and smiled. "Thanks for this Damon." He shrugged off my thanks and then started looking around for a girl for him. I walked over to my potential prey.

"Hi, what's your name?" I asked, smiling to the drunken guy. He stared at me for a minute before he focused and smiled back.

"Steven." He said. Well, slurred is more like it. He tried to stand up straight and ended up leaning heavily on me. I would have pushed him away were this any other circumstance but this wasn't any other circumstance and I needed him to follow me outside.

"Hey, Steven." I said, sexily, running my finger up his chest. He growled, trying to be sexy back but it just sounded like he had something in his throat and he needed to clear his throat. He began kissing my neck and I fake a swoon. He smiled.

"Want to take this outside?" He slurred, his breath smelling heavily of beer. It was a big turn-off for me, not that I had liked him in the first place.

"Sure." I said quietly and his smile got bigger. I let him lead me outside and then he pressed me hard against the alley wall. No one would see us now. As he attacked my neck, I tried not to gag. This guy really repulsed me. Then I felt my fangs lengthen hungrily as I smelled his blood just below the surface of his thin skin. I bit down deep and he let out a small cry of pain before he moaned and pressed harder against me. He started groping at me and I couldn't take it anymore. No matter how thirsty I was, I just couldn't stand here and get molested. I retracted my fangs and tried to push him off. I had only taken a few gulps from him and was still very weak so even his human strength subdued me. I pushed and pushed and when he figured out what I was doing he glared at me.

"Baby, I always get what I want." He said, his hand running up and down my thigh.

"Not this time you won't." a voice from behind him said.

"Stay out of this." Steven said, and suddenly he was gone, thrown against the wall on the opposite side off the alley. His head had a pretty bad bump on it but he was breathing. He would live, sadly.

I looked at my savior and saw none other than Damon. I decided to be funny. "Well, your name is Salvatore isn't it?" He smiled at me and I felt myself almost swoon for real. The moonlight was hitting his hair perfectly and it threw rainbows in every direction. I just wanted to run my figures through it, to see if it was really as soft as it looked. His dark eyes watched me and, right then and there, he looked like the most beautiful man in the world. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He was my savior in more ways than one.

**What do you think? Please let me know.**


	8. The Big Bad Wolf Has Come to Town

**Elena's P.O.V**

"So I take it you didn't get much of a meal, since you couldn't even get that weakling off of you." Damon said as we walked back to the hotel.

"No, I don't care how thirsty I am, I'm not going to stand there and get molested by some weird, drunk guy I'll never see again and have no _interest _in seeing again." I sighed. "What about you?" I asked, knowing that he had obviously gotten some blood. His power was much more obvious now, not that it hadn't been obvious before.

"I did better than you, I would say." He said, licking his lips. I rolled my eyes and the rest of the walk was relatively quiet.

**Stefan's P.O.V**

As soon as I got off the plane, I scoped out the place, trying to get any clue as to where Damon might have gone. I caught his scent along with _hers. _I growled lowly. It was faint but I was sure that it was _hers. _

I went outside of the airport, finding the smell of exhaust where their scents ended. _Okay, so they must have got out of here as soon as possible. _I thought of all the towns nearest to here. _He probably brought her somewhere close, so she could get some blood._With that thought, I looked around the parking lot. Seeing a nice corvette, I decided to take it. I had it hot-wired soon and was off after my evil brother and my _ex-_wife.

**Damon's P.O.V**

Elena and I got to the hotel after about five minutes. At first she started up to the suite but I just ignored the door and walked to the pathetic human at the door. "Go get my car." I said, menacingly. He would, of course, remember me. He scurried off to get it, with me chuckling under my breath. Humans really were such fragile creatures.

"Damon, where are you going?"

"We, my darling, we." I corrected, giving her a half-second smile. Or I _tried _to. It actually turned into a long smile, well for me it was a long smile. She smiled back.

"So where are _we _going?" she asked.

"Don't you want to see the sites? Besides, I have some weird feeling that my-" I stopped myself half-sentence. She probably didn't want to hear of my suspicion that my little brother didn't take her leaving as gracefully as he usually does. In fact, my gut was telling that he probably wasn't the same little brother I knew and despised. I'd rather not have myself proved right or wrong in this instance.

"Have a weird feeling that what, Damon?" Elena asked, looking up in my eyes. Just then, the guy returned with my car. I shook my head.

"Nothing, forget about it." And with that, we got into my car, driving off to whatever. I wasn't really paying attention to the road anyway. My thought were to distracting and, well, driving was really _too _easy for my kind.

**Stefan. P.O.V**

As I entered the first town on the road, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of power. That was the only way I would know if Damon was here or not. Of course, he could be hiding it, but I doubted that and didn't want to give myself too much false-hope.

I drove up to a nice hotel that practically screamed worthy-of-Damon. I got out and some guy offered to take my car. Of course, I had no keys but I wasn't going to tell him that. I shook my head at his hand and smiled a slow creeping smile. He shrunk back a little.

"Have you seen someone who looks like me but with black eyes?" I asked, using my power to tell if he lied or not.

"Um, now that you mention it, yeah this one guy. Scared the crap out of me. He was with this really hot bl-"

I cut him off, "Where'd he go?"

"How much is this information worth?" the guy asked slyly, gaining confidence that he could make a quick buck off me. I smiled again and I could smell the scent of fear on him.

"Depends," I said slowly, "is it worth your life?" I finished quietly.

He gulped. "Um, uh, him and the blond chick, they, uh, went somewhere this morning. They went somewhere last night and then they left as soon as they got back. Uh, he was driving a black Ferrari. They went that way." He pointed south. I smiled and stepped closer to him. He gulped once more before I bite into his throat. His blood wasn't necessarily the best in the world, but it would do. Through his blood, I could see clear as day what he had just told me, just without all the stuttering. I saw Damon and _her _getting into the car. Obviously this guy was terrified of Damon. I took one more sip and then released him. _You will forget me. _I thought into his head. He stared at me blankly and then nodded. _Okay, that's finished. _I thought. I got into my car and took off, following that invisible map I had made in my head. The next town was only about a hundred miles ahead. Damon had an eight hour head-start but he would stop eventually. He didn't know I was coming.

The thought made me smile. Damon would leave Elena eventually, and when he did, I would make her pay for the pain she's caused me.

**Elena's P.O.V**

Damon drove for about half-an-hour until we entered a new town. This time, he went to an okay hotel. It wasn't a roach-motel, I don't think Damon would even _consider _staying at one of those, no it was an average hotel, nothing compared to what we had last night. We hadn't even spent a night there actually. We had stayed there for like five hours.

He parked his car and we got out. This time, he headed for the sidewalk, not even glancing at the hotel. I hurried to catch up to him, deciding not to ask where we were going.

He walked to some mall and he walked in. _What in the world were we doing here? _"Damon, what are we doing here?"

"You need some new clothes, am I correct?" I looked down at my dirty dress; well it was kind of a dress, more like a gown.

"Yeah." I said shyly. Damon just slowed down a little. I looked over my shoulder, for now I was in the lead. He gave me a crooked smile.

"You're the one wearing whatever we end up buying. Go find what you want. I'm just here so you don't have to steal it." I felt my cheeks redden some reason and I turned around quickly, looking at the stores we were passing. I saw one that I liked and walked inside, Damon followed behind me silently.

I picked up a pair of jeans and a shirt. I didn't need to try them on. I walked to the register only to notice that Damon was gone. I looked around, trying to find him. Suddenly he was right behind my, his arms holding something in front of me. I looked at a silver necklace with a Lapis Lazuli stone in it. It was actually very pretty. "I like this." He said into my ear, his breath blowing gently past my ear. I nodded, unable to talk with him right behind my, his chest just barely touching my back.

He grabbed my clothes and walked to the register. He bought the necklace and handed it to me before grabbing my bag. I tried to grab it but he wouldn't let me. "That would be very un-gentleman-like. Why what would my father say?" he joked. I couldn't help but smile. I had never heard Damon say anything unless it was totally mean, rude, or necessary, such as if someone forgot an important flaw in a plan. It was nice, hearing him joke a little.

We walked to a lady's restroom and he handed me the bag. I came out a few minutes later, throwing away the dirty gown and the bag. I turned to him then. "What do you think?" I asked, spinning around. I thought I saw something flash in his eyes before they returned to their depthless black orbs.

"I think-," He paused, glaring at something over my shoulder. I turned around too and looked at a group of four guys all looking at me. One of them was pointing and when he saw me looking, he smiled and motioned for me to come over. I turned back to Damon, flicking the boys off. I heard one of them snicker but I didn't pay them much attention.

Damon walked over to me and grabbed me hand, kissing it gently. "I think you look beautiful." he whispered only loud enough for me to hear. His cool breath sent chill bumps to my skin but I doubted that that was the only reason they had suddenly come up. He smiled and we started walking back out. A moment later I heard them.

"Hey baby! What you doing later tonight?" One said. I snarled quietly, they really were annoying.

"Hopefully me!" Another shouted and the others snickered. They sounded like a bunch of laughing hyenas.

I saw Damon clench his fist. This cannot be good.

I sped up a little, now walking right by the _very _tense Damon. I threw him a look and quickly looked away. He looked murderous and, honestly, it kind of turned me on that he was getting so jealous. Or I _think_ that's what had him so mad.

"Come one baby, don't be like that."

"Yeah, come on, you'll _really _enjoy it! I swear!" I heard Damon growl just so low that only I heard him. _He needs to calm down or they're all going to get killed for sure._

I wrapped my arms around Damon's arm, putting my head on his shoulder. "They aren't worth it." I whispered. Damon looked down at me and I half expected him to attack me for even thinking of talking to him, let alone touching him, but he had calmed down a little. He gave me a half-smile but he still seemed a little tense.

"I know, if I thought they were, I would have killed them already." He said back. I smiled and pulled myself closer to him. He didn't pull away and that was enough for me right now.

"Some one baby, leave that wimp. Come on, you need a real man." I couldn't help but let out a little snort at his choice of words. Damon looked at me like, _what in the world's so funny, _so I answered his unspoken question.

"Get it?" I whispered. "Technically, you're not a 'real man' because you're a vampire, not a man. Get it?" _Okay, it had sounded funnier in my head. _However Damon still gave me a courtesy smirk and shook his head.

"You're thirsty aren't you?" He asked quietly, not wanting to be overheard obviously.

"Well, I never really quenched my thirst the other night so, yeah I would say so." Then I thought about why he would have asked that. _O, dummy! _I thought to myself. "You're asking because of how stupid I'm acting aren't you?" He just smiled a little.

We didn't say anything else on the way back to the hotel, though we were continually followed. The sun set a few minutes later.

There was some noise behind us and Damon tensed all over again. Then he looked down at me, smirking, "Well, here's dinner." Then he turned around and grabbed one guy's fist just before it hit where Damon's head was. _Man these guys were idiots! _

Damon kneed the guy in the stomach and flipped the one now running at him over the one on the ground. There was a loud crack at his head hit the ground. _I hope he's not dead. _I thought. The other two ran off, screaming their heads off all the way. _Man they're more pathetic then a kitten. Talk about 'real men'. Psh. _Damon picked up the one with the cracked head and motioned for me to follow him. He went down an alleyway, and laid the guy down. I immediately understood what he was planning. He looked at me and I nodded, then I kneeled by the guy and grabbed his hair, positioning his neck at the perfect angle. Then I bit down. Hard. His blood gushed into my mouth and it might not have been the best but it was definitely good to my throat, which had started to burn a little. Before long, I realized that I had drank to much and I started to pull away but Damon's voice stopped me.

"Finish him off. He'll die of intense brain damage anyway, even if he was in the hospital right now. Don't make him die for nothing."

So I complied and soon I had drunk him dry. I stood up and his body fell over, lifeless. I wiped my lips and turned to Damon, smiling slightly. "Thanks." He shrugged and then froze. He grabbed my arm and pulled me, running quick down the alleyway. I didn't ask questions, I could tell something wasn't right. _But what is it that would make Damon run away? Or maybe we're running to it?_

**Damon's P.O.V**

"Thanks." Elena said. I shrugged and then froze. It had only been for an instant but I had felt some power. Power that was nearly as strong as mine.

I grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her down the alleyway. Thankfully she didn't ask any questions. I wasn't even sure what I had felt was real any way.

Then I felt it again and I knew for sure. Little St. Stefan had come after Elena, and he was ticked. So ticked that he had taken human blood and was itching for a fight._ Oh, crap, this cannot be good. Not even a little bit._

**Please review! I'm going to my Aunt's for a few days so it may be awhile until I can update again.**


	9. Brothers with Fangs

**Stefan's P.O.V**

As soon as I drove into town, I felt Damon's power. I also felt a faint power right by him. _Elena._ I smiled. I'd caught them.

**Damon's P.O.V**

Elena stumbled behind me as I strode through the alleyway. She still didn't ask any questions, which I was happy for. She was confused though, I knew that much.

"Damon?" Elena asked quietly, obviously wanting to know but understanding that it was bad. "Damon, what is it?" She said, looking over our shoulder as we walked down the sidewalk.

I threw her a half-second smile. "Brother dearest wants to see his ex-fiancé." I said. Yeah it was mean but it was the truth. Well, unless he just wanted to kill me but he's always wanted to do that. Elena had to have been what made him snap. Elena's eyes got big and she froze. I tried to pull her out of it but it did nothing. I grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Elena, listen. Now is _not _the time to freak out. Stefan's pretty angry."

"How angry?" she whispered. I sighed.

"Angry enough to drink human blood." I whispered back. She needed to know.

**Elena's P.O.V**

Oh gosh, Stefan. I had no idea that he'd do this. If he's mad enough to drink human blood, I don't stand a chance against him. Hopefully Damon will but I don't want him to kill Stefan. I felt tears well up in my eyes. Why couldn't he just leave us be?

"Elena. Elena!" Damon said, shaking me gently, trying to get me out of my shocked state. I wish I could answer him but if I do, then I'll feel again. It's much more peaceful here, in the black.

Suddenly I felt a warmness envelop me completely and I heard someone crying.

"Shh, Elena, everything will work out. Come on, calm down. It's alright."

I opened my mouth to talk and I tasted salty water. "Damon." I said, bursting into tears again. _Ah, so that was who was holding me. _I cried into Damon chest. I knew I should stop, so we could get a move on. So we could get away before Damon had to fight Stefan. I didn't want them fighting but I couldn't get a hold on myself. I just couldn't.

**Damon's P.O.V**

Suddenly Elena burst into tears. _Ugh, why now? This is not exactly the best time. _I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me.

"Shh, Elena, everything will work out. Come on, calm down. It's alright." I whispered sweet nothings into her ear. She had to calm down.

"Damon." She whispered and I held her tighter.

Suddenly I felt a surge of power. _At least he hasn't _killed _anybody. Then there would be no way I could beat him. This way I can hopefully beat him, but do I want to kill him? Elena wouldn't like it. Ugh I'm thinking like St. Stefan here! _I shook my head and tried to conceal my power. Of course he probably already knew where we were, and he could always follow Elena's weak power trail but still, maybe it will buy us some time. I should have done that as soon as I thought he was following us.

"Elena. Elena calm down. Please." I whispered into her ear.

"Don't kill him Damon." She whispered back, getting somewhat control over herself.

I sighed. "If there's no other way………" She suddenly calmed down. She looked at me and I expected her to yell or slap me or something. Instead her eyes got really sad and she nodded a little. I took my hand and gently wiped off the tear trails. "We need to get moving if you want to avoid a fight."

"Okay." She said into my chest. Then she pulled away and I let her go. Then an idea struck me.

I picked Elena up bridal style, which shocked her greatly, and then I jumped up to the roof of a house. She looked dazed for a moment when I set her down. Then she grabbed my hand and we ran across the rooftops much faster than we would have been able to do on the sidewalk. _Well at least this way, we don't attract any unwanted attention. _The power was behind us now but he was following us. He didn't gain any ground though, so we were moving fast enough._ Elena won't be able to keep this pace up for much longer. _The truth in that thought was unmistakable. Even now, I could see she was exhausted, the blood from the earlier kill already almost burnt out. Even though she killed him, she was still so tired. I should have realized how thirsty she was. _She could be strong enough to beat Stefan herself if I had taken better care of her. _That thought was true too. _She deserves someone better than me. Someone like Stefan. Well like Stefan _used _to be. _

"Elena." I said. She looked at me. "Keep running. I'm going to go talk with my brother."

"Damon…." She said unsurely. I gave her long sad smile and she gasped quietly.

"I won't fight him unless he starts it. I just want to talk with him." She nodded and kept running. I stopped and reached out with my power, searching for Stefan.

_Brother dearest, I want to talk to you. _I sent the message to him.

_Not smart, brother. Leaving Elena to fend for herself. _He sent back, trying to move around me. I changed into a crow and flew toward him. He was outside the city and I caught up to him quickly.

I changed back into a human and walked into a clearing. Stefan stepped into it from the other side and gave me a smirk. I returned it with a half-second smile. "You're getting more and more like me everyday." I commented. Instead of denying it, he just smirked bigger.

"Yes and you're getting more like me."

I growled. "I'd never give up my nature to drink animal blood."

"You never know." was all he said. Man, he really _is _getting more and more like me. I can't say I've ever been a fan of copycats.

"What did you want to talk about?" Stefan asked, "I have places to be, people to see, you know."

"Yeah I know." I said lowly. Louder I said, "Elena belongs with you. You're better for her. Or you used to be."

He seemed taken aback by that. Apparently he thought I had seduced Elena into coming with me. Or maybe he thought I had just lost my mind. Heck, _I _thought I had lost my mind!

He glared at me with his narrow green eyes. "What are you playing at?" he asked.

I shrugged. "You'd take better care of her."

"But she wants you." He said, sounding just for a moment like the little brother I knew and hated.

"She doesn't know what she wants. You just need to talk with her. Maybe if you gave up your little diet, which I can tell you've already done, then you two can have a new start or something like that."

Suddenly he seemed real sad.

I rolled my eyes. "What now?"

"I kind of feel bad."

"You should. You're trying to kill Elena."

He shook his head. "Not about that. About the fact that that is probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me and I'm about to ruin it."

I ran that through my head confused. _What's he going to do, attack me? _I was actually right.

Stefan jumped at me, trying to get to my throat. I flung him over my head and he hit a tree but he didn't go down. He hit me from behind and bit deep into my shoulder. I punched him in the face and ripped him off of me. He tore my shoulder deeply and I growled, getting into a crouch. We circled each other for a minute, my shoulder bleeding and his nose broken and bloody. He sprung at me and I grabbed his shirt, pushing him on the ground. He kicked my feet and I fell on top of him. I snarled and bore my fangs, trying to bite his neck. He flipped us so he was on top and tried to bite my neck also. When he couldn't do that, he tried to punch my face. I bite his hand instead and he growled, trying to yank it out of my grip. I just bit deeper and I drank a little, glad when he snarled in anger at having his blood taken without his permission. He punched me with his other hand and I let go, going for his throat. I scraped his neck but he ripped away from my grasp before I could get a good grip on him. He got to his feet and I saw he was covered in blood. I snarled and got up as well, only to be attacked from the side, his fangs going deep into neck. I groaned. I had to admit, it hurt. He drank my blood, merely for the pleasure of embarrassing me after all those years. I tried to shake him off but he would not let go. I felt him smile slightly and bite deeper.

_Apparently you're not as strong as I thought. If I can beat you by only drinking a little blood from two humans, I wonder how strong I'd be if I _killed _a human. _He said into my head. He continued to drain my power from me.

_You've gone crazy, you know. _I answered back, my mental voice weaker than usual. _I don't want to kill you but if you lay a hand on Elena, I will. _

_Yeah yeah, your big talk means nothing to me now._

_Oh, so it meant something to you before?_

He growled in reply. My vision was now getting blurry.

I mental sighed. _You know, I actually miss my annoying little brother. _

At that, Stefan roared and released me. I fell to the ground, not having the energy to catch myself. I picked myself up on my hands and I heard him chuckled. "You know, it seems like it was just yesterday, that _I _was the one picking myself off the ground. Look how the tides changed."

I smirked at him, trying to buy Elena time. "I agree, the tide has changed. Only not every change is for the better and, well, you're a prime example of that." He growled lowly.

"I could kill you, you know." He mused, trying to toy with me._ What did he want me to do, beg? Oh no, I was far from that._

"Yeah and? What, do you want me to beg? Sorry to crush your dreams but that's not going to happen." I could feel the remainder of my blood flowing out of the gashes in the neck and shoulder. He really had got the best of me, I'll admit, but he wasn't going to force me to do anything. I smirked, even though I was starting to see red.

"No, not really. I doubt anyone could ever get you to beg, well maybe not for your _own _life, maybe for someone else's. I'm just kind of basking in the moment. It's not very often I can say I beat you."

"Ah, so you're gloating, much more my style. Congratulations, you've successfully completed the change into father's worst nightmare. Another me."

"No, I'm not you, I'm stronger than you."

"Maybe, or maybe you're just crazy and you feel no pain, but you know, you could be right too."

I could tell I was annoying him. Good, it'll buy Elena more time. Suddenly Stefan smiled.

"I may be stronger, but apparently you've gotten smarter. You've been distracting me from going after Elena."

I shrugged but it hurt my shoulder. I tried to not show the wave of pain that went through my body. Stefan smiled wider. "I'll be back for you, brother." Then he took off into the trees.

_Ugh, Elena._ I tried to stand up. _I have to protect Elena, at least until Stefan gets some sense knocked into him._

**Please tell me what you think. I'm not so sure about this chapter but I had to have Stefan and Damon fight. Plus, I like Damon being the chivalrous one. It killed me to have Stefan beat him though. Stefan would never be able to beat Damon in the books. Damon is too awesome! :) Review please!**


	10. Sadistic Dawn

**Elena's P.O.V**

My power was extremely weak, what with me being tired and underfed and all but I still felt the dramatic drop in power from the direction Damon had gone. _Oh no, Damon! _I also felt the sudden increase in power but it was way different. It was wild and uncontrolled and it was heading straight for me.

**Stefan's P.O.V**

I could practically smell Elena's fear and the way her pathetic rush of power tired to build. She was way underfed and very tired as well. This might even be a little _too_ easy. Maybe I'll play with her a little. I had all the time in the world, what with Damon out of the picture. He wasn't going to get better anytime soon.

**Damon's P.O.V**

I managed to limp my way into town though I really didn't want to let people see me. Using the little remainder of my power, I influenced two girls out clubbing to come into the alleyway where I was hiding. As soon as they came in, I made one fall asleep, the other I grabbed and pulled to me, sinking my fangs deep into her neck. I felt the rush of power return to me and then I felt the last of her power sink into my throat. I dropped her and then grabbed the other, repeating the process. Soon she was drained too. I can't say it was a good way to die but I had made it quick. Plus it had gone to a good cause, I thought wiping the remaining blood from my lips. I was stronger than before, what with two fresh kills. Stefan wouldn't stand and chance now and this time, I wasn't going to think about it. I don't care if he's my brother; he's going to die tonight.

**Elena's P.O.V**

I jumped from the roof of the last building and then ran through the woods. However, my vision was getting a little blurry and I was just so tired. I tripped over a root and fell. I was just too tired to pick myself up again.

**Stefan's P.O.V**

I felt Elena's power drain little by little until she just stopped moving. It's so much easier when the prey doesn't run, I thought.

**Damon's P.O.V**

I hid my new strength, wanting to sneak up on Stefan. I could easily feel his. However, he wasn't who I was looking for. I couldn't find Elena. Her power must have gotten so weak that she's barely stronger than a five-year-old human. I followed Stefan's power trail until I got a hint as to where to look for Elena's power. I found her but she wasn't moving. She must be too weak. I should have made sure she ate better! It's going to be my entire fault if Stefan kills her. I groaned. If I hadn't ever come into her life, she'd be happy with the old Stefan, sipping blood from little squirrels. I screw up everything.

**Stefan's P.O.V**

I slowed down as I neared Elena. I saw her soon after that and a slow smile came across my face. Damon must not have fed her well, I thought, remembering how soon she had gotten too tired. There was a time I would have cared, my mind added weakly. I shook my head, Elena broke my heart, she doesn't deserve to be with anyone else.

**Elena's P.O.V**

I was barely aware of the fact that Stefan had stepped into my line of sight. My breathing picked up and I tried to control it, but I failed. He smiled a slow smile and it gave me the creeps. I sat up straight and he took a step towards me. I crawled back weakly, trying to stay away from him. He just smiled and took another step. My back hit a tree trunk and I froze. I was going to die.

**Damon's P.O.V**

I flew as fast as I could, feeling that Stefan had already met up with the weak Elena. She didn't stand a chance.

**Elena's P.O.V**

I stared into the eyes of who would be my potential killer. Had someone told me that he would be my demise a few weeks ago, I never would have believed them. I smirked, that time had past. Stefan was changed. He wasn't the same. He was sick. What used to be is never more. I will never be his again and for that he's going to make me pay. My only hope is that _he _will find happiness. Somewhere, if Stefan hasn't already killed him that is. I hope he didn't. Damon probably didn't want to kill Stefan and that's why Stefan won. In these last few days, I've learn what I could have, no, should have chosen. I know Damon well enough from these past days to know that he dwells on nothing, he will be fine. He'll find someone else.

My killer took a step towards me, baring his fangs. He was much older than me and much stronger. Maybe he would make it quick, less painless. He took one more step to me and then his eyes flashed with a wild, untamed red light. He ran to me with speed I couldn't follow, and clamped down onto my neck, sucking the life out of me. I couldn't withhold the cry of pain that came from my lips.

"Stefan, no!" I heard from somewhere behind my killer. His voice was sweeter than what I remembered.

_I'm sorry Damon, _I thought to him with the last of my strength. _I really did love you, _and then I faded into the black, unfeeling of anything and unhearing, forever cold. Forever in darkness.......................

**Damon's P.O.V**

I growled and slammed into Stefan. He gasped and I pulled him from Elena before he could bite down again. I then punched his jaw, hearing the bones crack behind my fist. I smiled in sadistic humor and punched him in the gut as hard as I could. As he doubled over, I bore my fangs and bite down deep into his neck, sucking the blood from his veins. Subconsciously, I registered that the sun was rising. I smiled. Perfect. Stefan would see his last dawn.

**Okay, I know this is super short but I wanted to update. Please review! And sorry if the constant change in P.O.V confused you. I thought it added drama, ya no? Damon kinda thinks like Stefan used to don't you think? You know, the 'everything's my fault' kind of thinking? :) Please tell me if you like! **


	11. Raining Tears

**Okay, I want to thank everyone who voted on my poll and I just couldn't wait anymore. I just love this story so much I want you guys to read the next chapter, so here it is. **

**Oh, and I haven't put this one recently, so uh, I don't own anything.**

**Damon's P.O.V**

As I felt the sun rise, I grabbed Stefan's hand with mine, my fangs still deep within his neck. I started trying to pull off his ring, which was very difficult. Especially since he soon figured out what I was doing and began writhing with everything in his crazy mind. I just bit down deeper and twisted and pulled until I felt his ring slip a little off his finger. He was twisting and turning every which a way to get out of my hold. He was desperate and pathetic, but he had always been pathetic.

**Stefan's P.O.V**

I felt Damon's hand trying to get my ring off and I struggled. His fangs bit deeper into my neck and it hurt like heck. I felt my ring slip a little and I went into overdrive. I was not going to die here. I couldn't. I especially couldn't let Damon beat me.

**Damon's P.O.V**

Stefan's wriggling was getting annoying so I let go of his ring and smacked him in the head. That, combined with the fact that I hit him really hard and with all the blood I had taken, caused his to go limp in my grip. He was unconscious. Or I thought he was.

I loosened my grip, trying to get to his ring easier but suddenly he became livid. He pushed off of my chest and then backed away into the shadows. I watched him, fangs bare and covered with his blood. I growled and he just backed away, this pathetic whining sound coming from him. Honestly, he's more pathetic now than before! At least before he would stand against me, actually fight even though he knew he couldn't beat me! Now he's just a mockery at who my brother used to be. I ran for him and he dodged. Or tried too. He was much too slow after all his lost blood. My teeth went back into my former bite mark easily and I sucked again. A howl of agony came from his lips.

Good, I thought, he deserves to feel pain for what he did to Elena. _Remember her! Elena the girl that practically made you go suicidal when she died protecting us! The girl who you loved! There was a time that you would have wanted her to be happy! Can't you except she doesn't love you without going absolutely insane! I did!_

_You just don't get it Damon. _Heck no, I know he did _not _just say that! I pulled back from his neck and began to shout into his mind.

_I don't get what little brother? The pain of losing the one you love? If you happen to care enough to remember, I've lost my love twice! One because she was stupid, and the other because of you! Do _not _tell me that I don't understand that kind of pain little brother! _

_I don't need the lecture! _He yelled into my mind with a sudden force. Then he power died back down to his weak mental voice. _I don't need a lecture, just finish it. _

_You know, _I said, drawing it out. _I've always thought that. Even when I was a human, I hate the lecture before the punishment, but you know what, I think I'll make you beg. It's much more fun._

_I won't beg._

_Maybe, maybe not, depends how much you're like me, and well, if your _anything _like the old little brother I knew, than it won't take much._

_I won't beg._

_What made you go crazy? I'm curious. _I asked, changing subjects.

_She told me to stop blaming myself. I have to blame someone, so I blame her. She broke my heart. I guess I could've blamed you but she didn't exactly mention you._

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at that.

_What's so funny?! _Stefan yelled again.

_Little brother, how well does she know you? It's in the Salvatore blood I'm sure, because that's about the only thing we have in common. It's actually the only thing I had in common with father as well. Of course, I don't show it as you do, so there's a difference._

_Damon_

_What?_

_Finish this. I'm tired of trying. I'm tired of living. We were supposed to die over five-hundred years ago. You can adapt, live life to the fullest, even when you were human you could and I have to admit, I was jealous of you for it. I can't do that. This living forever, isn't for me. I'm just sick of it. Elena was my last lifeline. The only reason I didn't kill myself. She's gone now. Just kill me._

_If you want to die so much, do it to yourself._

_I can't. You know I'm a coward._

I shook my head. _Crazy? Yes. Pathetic? Sometimes. A coward? Never. Even when it's obvious you'll lose you don't back down. Even I can't say that._

_What are you talking about?_

_With Klaus, I'm supposed to be so strong but yet you lasted way longer than me. I got shot down with a single blow._

_I would have too._

_No you wouldn't have. See, even you older brother is jealous of you sometimes. You had Elena, you would have stood up and fought for her._

_Not if I was unconscious, Damon. No one's superman._

I smiled a little. _I wouldn't want to be. Even he's got a weakness, mine isn't quiet so obvious, plus it's not advertised._

_What is it?_

I sighed and looked at the bite mark on his neck. Then I looked into his eyes. _As sappy as it sounds, you. You're my brother and I have to love you. Plus, you're the only one who's been there all through my life, even as a human. I might terrorize and hurt you, but I don't think I can kill you._

_You just about did. _He reminded me.

I shook my head. _You weren't you. You were crazy. Now you're acting more like the Stefan I know. There's a big difference between the two._

_You still have to kill me._

_You seem under control of yourself now._

_Yes, but I'm dead inside. I'll probably give in to the anger just to feel _something_. Please Damon, put me out of my misery._

_You really aren't a coward._

_Why do you say that?_

_I wouldn't be able to beg for my life to be taken._ _Especially by you. _

_Why?_

_I wouldn't_ _be able to ask you because I would hope that you wouldn't be able to do it. Maybe be afraid that you would be able to do it and then I would know you don't care anything for me. _I smirked a little. _I at least like to entertain my mind by thinking _someone_ cares if I live or die._

_I do Damon, but I'm sick. Sick of living, sick in the head! Admit it. Now just kill me already! _

I sighed, no more stalling. I walked over to Stefan and bore my fangs. He moved his head and I bite down and drank his blood. I wasn't going to burn him to a crisp with the sun. I was just going to drain him. He'd die either way.

_Thank you…………brother _He thought into my head, his mental voice greatly faded.

_Goodbye, Stefan _I thought back, I thought I saw a smile on his lips but I didn't exactly have the best view of his mouth.

_Goodbye……………………………I really do love you, brother. _And with that, my brother died. No, I killed my brother. I removed my fangs and sent him down on the ground gently.

I stood up and looked down at him. I felt something wet on my cheek and brushed my finger against it. Was it raining? No, it was a tear. I shook my head and wiped my eyes. I do not cry. I just don't do it. But just then, the clouds rumbled and suddenly they began to pour.

So there, standing in the middle of the rain over my dead brother, I cried for the first time since my mother died.

**Okay, not exactly what you were expecting I know. But I kind of like this Damon. Plus it's nice that Stefan was himself there at the end. It did Damon some good in my mind, you know, to have some closure with his brother before he had to kill him. And don't worry, there's more. I'm not done yet!**


	12. Heaven

**Damon's P.O.V**

I stood there for probably about five minutes before wiping my eyes and walking over to Elena's still-form. I knelt down besides her and felt for a pulse. Even if we were vampires, we still had pulses, they were just really slow.

She had one, but it was even slower than a normal vampire's. I went over behind her and put her head in my lap. Then I slashed my wrist with my teeth and placed it to her mouth. She was unresponsive.

"Come one, drink. You need it." I mumbled and held her mouth open, letting some of the blood drip into her mouth, as well as a little rain. Her swallowed and I let out a sigh in relief. She'd be fine. I pressed my bleeding wrist to her mouth and I felt her fangs lengthen and she bite into me.

"That's it Elena, drink." She did. I ran my fingers through her hair and she suddenly stopped drinking my blood. I returned my attention to her and saw she was staring at me. I gave her a crooked smile. I didn't even have enough energy to smirk or put up any of my usual walls. She must have seen the sadness in my eyes because she was suddenly hugging me. I winced as she brushed my shoulder and she pulled any to assess the damage.

She kissed the wound on my shoulder and then kissed her way up my neck with butterfly kisses. She placed a kiss on each cheek and then kiss my softly on the lips. She wrapped her hands into my hair and I pulled her closer by putting my arms around her waist. In the end, I ended up rolling back on the forest floor with her on top of me, neither of us wanting to break the kiss. She really was amazing, though I still wouldn't go crazy if she left me. After a few more seconds, I pulled away. My eyes went to the still form underneath the trees not far from us and I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. I killed my brother and then I stole his girl. Or was it the other way around?

Elena was running her fingers across my cheeks and I realized I was crying again. Dang it! I'm not supposed to be this……..this sensitive I guess! I killed him for Christ's sake! It's my fault! I can't be the murderer and then cry for his death! It's not how things work!

"Damon……" Elena said and I looked at her, lying on top of my chest. "I'm sorry Damon." She said sincerely and then she kissed the trail from one of my tears. I shook my head and wiped my eyes.

"He was the old Stefan, at the end, but he still wanted to be killed." I told her. "He said he was tired of living. He was begging, begging me to…….to kill him." I finished very quietly. She hugged me closer and cried too.

"I shouldn't have brought you into this, I'm so sorry!" I managed to here through her sobs. I wrapped my arms around her and sat up. I held her close as she cried. I wasn't going to cry again, I told myself, but I couldn't help it. He was my brother, dang it and I'll cry if I want too!

After letting a few of the silent tears pass from my eyes, I just stopped. He asked me to do it. He wanted to die. He had asked, no begged me for it. I wasn't going to cry because he was tired of living without a purpose. To be honest, I had felt that at times, but not recently. Not since Katherine had reunited me with my brother. Ugh, things were just so out of whack. I feel like I need a heavy-duty headache reliever for vampires.

"Damon?"

"Yes Elena?" I asked.

"Are you okay?"

I smiled but I'm sure it looked very weak but I didn't care. "I'm fine Elena. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm so sorry Damon. I shouldn't have caused this. You two were just starting to be………acquaintances." She said quietly.

I gave her a true smile at that. "Elena," I said and she looked in my eyes, clearly confused at my sudden happiness. "Elena, Stefan and I were probably the closest we've ever been just before I…….killed him." I shuddered but continued. "That never would have happen if it weren't for these circumstances. For once, we were actually brothers. Even when we were humans we didn't get along that well. Thank you, Elena."

"But you shouldn't have had to say goodbye at the same time. I may not be _in _love with Stefan anymore but I did love him............. like a brother, maybe?"

I nodded. "And he knew that. But the thing about me is I wouldn't have _let _that happened had it been any other circumstances. If there was a chance that I would see Stefan tomorrow, or next week, or even in ten years, I would save my goodbye. I don't do the sappy 'bye, I love you!' stuff unless it really is a goodbye for good." She suddenly smiled and I stared at her guardedly. "What?" I asked. She smiled bigger.

"I _knew _you really loved Stefan! I just knew it!" I rolled my eyes and pecked her lips.

"Of course I love him you silly girl. He's my brother."

She pressed her lips against mine and I ran my tongue over her bottom lip. She gasp but I pulled away, smiling a little. She hit my arm playfully. Well it felt playfully, if she had been trying to hurt me then we might need to work on her upper body strength. "You tease!" She said, smiling. I started to get up and brought her with me, holding her close to me. When she was on her own two legs, I let her go.

"Come on, you need some blood." I said and she just nodded, knowing that I was right.

"Shouldn't we…….uh bury him?" Elena asked as we started to leave. I shook my head smiling.

"Vampires hate dirt and trees and pretty much all other aspects of the forest. You don't want to put one under dirt. It's bad luck. However, there is one thing I want." I walked over to Stefan's still body and knelt down. I grabbed his hand and gently took off his Lapis Lazuli ring. Suddenly he burst into ashes and I heard Elena gasp and then sob quietly. I put the ring in my pocket. I would get a chain for it later. I would remember my brother and I was sure that Elena would too.

I walked back over to her and wrapped my arms around her. "Sh, it's okay, sh. He wanted this. Don't cry, it will make him sad." Then she got quiet and nodded.

I held her hand as we walked back into the sleeping town. First I went to one of the stores and bought both of us some new clothes. We were both covered in blood and dirt and pretty much everything else you could get on yourself from the forest. Then we went around, refilling Elena with blood. I took a few sips but I didn't really need any. Elena just insisted I drink something so I figured, as long as it shut her up and made her happy. I paid for a room in a nice hotel. I laid down on the bed as she washed up. I was exhausted. She came back out and cuddled up in my arms.

"Thank you, Damon." She said into my chest.

"For what?" I asked.

"For protecting me and for freeing Stefan. For being here, and well……for just taking care of me. For……everything." she finally said on the brink of sleep. "You know, when I was running from Stefan, I felt your power drop and I thought that he had killed you. I'm glad he didn't."

"He could have." I said. "He was stronger than me, but he didn't. He made up some stupid excuse. I think he knew I would come after him. I think he wanted to be stopped. He knew what he was doing and he was ashamed of it. He wanted to die."

"Wow the mighty Damon admitting that someone was stronger than him, especially his brother. I bet the guys back home would love to here that."

"But they won't."

"They will. Whenever they join Stefan, you know, in heaven."

I kissed her on the head. I hope he is in heaven. He deserves to be. Maybe that was another reason why I never actually asked to be killed. I already knew I wasn't going to wherever Stefan and Elena are going. I wonder if I'm going to get Elena kicked out by making her chose my diet, my way of life. I hope not, I thought as I kissed her forehead. Elena was too good not to be able to go to heaven.

"Damon, stop it." Elena said, looking up at me. I immediately moved my arms and didn't touch her. She sighed. "I didn't mean that." She said, wriggling herself back into my arms. I continued to run my thumb up and down her back. She sighed.

"Then what did you mean?"

"Stop thinking what you're thinking."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Because you don't think like a normal person. You think like……well like when you speak. You look at what you want to no matter who you're speaking too. Right now, you're thinking what you want too and I don't like it."

"You aren't making any sense you know. Most people think what they want." I said. She sighed.

"You were thinking about how you weren't going to heaven. Damon, you truly love your brother and….well I don't know who all you've killed or why, but I think you can repent. God won't kick you out for drinking blood, just if you kill. Just stop killing and repent."

"Elena, I don't think it works that way."

"Then you're saying Stefan won't go to heaven? That I won't go to heaven?"

"Elena, first off, _you _haven't killed anyone. Also, Stefan hasn't either."

"But……really? He was so strong!"

"I know, but he didn't kill anyone. Just drank from two humans. Left them unconscious, but alive. See, I'm worse than even my psycho brother!" I added the last part as a joke and smiled a little. She rolled her eyes.

"No more killing." She said with finality before laying her head on my chest. Within minutes she was out.

I leaned back into the pillows and looked at the ceiling. "God," I said quietly. "I don't care if you forgive me, but please don't kick Elena out because of me and.........and let Stefan be happy. That's all I'll need to be happy. To know that they're alright."

And with that, I went to sleep, but not so quickly that I didn't feel the sudden feeling in me of peace and happiness. That night was probably the first time ever in my five-hundred plus years that I went to sleep smiling, but it was all because I knew my brother was safe and I had an angel in my arms.

**Okay, sorry if I got Damon a little out of character. You have to realize though, losing your brother can be traumatic and change a person greatly, so I'm only assuming that it's even more dramatic if you killed him yourself. Please review and tell me if you like it or if it's even believable. I've got like……one more chapter I'm going to put on and it's going to take place……in the future. Maybe a month in the future, maybe ten years. Depends how I feel the words want to be. Please Review! **


	13. Epilogue: Talking in My Sleep

**Okay, this is the last chapter. I know, sorry. Anyways, this takes place one year in the future.**

**Damon's P.O.V**

I stared out at the sunset. It had been a year. One slow, agonizing year but we had gotten through it. It was getting easier, but just barely. Elena could finally go a whole day without breaking down, well as long as I didn't say or do anything that reminded her of Stefan in anyway and she did _see_ anything that reminded her of him.

Personally, since I had only broken down once this whole year, I'm sort of proud of myself. The one time had happened when I was about to kill this guy. I had gone three days without blood so I was really thirsty. I was going to make it painless, but well sadly, after killing Stefan, I seem to have gotten a conscience. It wouldn't let me kill again without thinking of Stefan. It had been too much and I had let him go. I hadn't gone back to Elena that night and she had been worried sick. I just didn't want her to see me cry. It was bad enough that I had cried in the first place, now she thought I was the most sensitive guy ever.

"You okay Damon?" Elena asked. I looked over my shoulder to see her coming out of the woods, looking as beautiful as always. I gave her a crooked grin.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How was your hunt?" Elena had continued Stefan's diet in memory of him, though she occasionally had some human blood. She said it was addicting but I knew that all too well.

"Good." She said. She sat down on the cliff by me and we watched as the sun bathed us with its last rays.

"It's been a year." She finally said, looking out to the almost completely set sun. It dipped under the horizon and then we were surrounded by night.

"Yes, it has." I said quietly, watching her reaction. I didn't want her to get upset, as she sometimes did when we talked about him.

"I miss him." She said quietly.

"Me too." I said carefully, still watching her. Right about now was when she lost it, usually.

She sighed and leaned back against my arm, which was around her shoulders. I wrapped my other arm around her and held her close to me. She smiled up at me and then she laid against me chest. After a few minutes, her breathing slowed and I realized she was asleep. _Figures, _I thought, _she must be exhausted. _I kept shrugged out of my jacket and balled it up on the ground. Then I laid her head on it and laid back myself, my arms underneath my head. After awhile, sleep over came me as well.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- In Elena's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I was in some meadow in a flowing scarlet dress. _Ah, this is where we fought Klaus._ I thought. Suddenly a dark figure walked out of the forest towards me.

"Damon?" I said. The figure kept his head down but continued to come closer to me. He didn't answer. "Damon is that you?"

"No Elena. It's me." Then the figure stopped about ten feet from me and raised his head. I was met with two forest green eyes. I gasped.

"Stefan!"

"Yes Elena."

"Stefan what are you doing here?" I asked, nervous. Last time I saw him he was crazy.

"It's alright Elena, I won't hurt you. I've seen the error of my ways. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you, and Damon. I'm so sorry Elena." Suddenly Stefan's figure began to shake and I realized he was crying. Acting on pure instant I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him, offering him any comfort I could. He wrapped his arms around me and I tensed a little but he just held me to him and I calmed down. This was the old Stefan, he would never hurt me. "I'm so sorry, Elena, I'm so sorry." Stefan kept whispering over and over in my ear.

"It's alright Stefan. I don't really know what got into you but I don't hold your last actions against you."

"But I hurt you Elena, I'm so sorry. If Damon hadn't of stopped me, you would be dead."

"But Damon did stop you. Don't blame yourself."

Stefan was quiet but he continued to hold me. Suddenly he tensed and then let me go. I released my hold on him and he stepped away from me.

"I have to go now." He said. "Again, I'm so sorry Elena."

"It's okay Stefan. Don't beat yourself up about it."

He smiled a little but it was sad. "You know, I still love you, but I can see that Damon takes care of you. That's all I could wish for right now. I'm glad your happy Elena. Plus, Damon deserves to be happy too. It seems like forever since I've ever seen him truly smile." He thought for a moment. "Actually I don't think I ever got the pleasure of seeing that sight. But now I pretty much see everything."

"Oh Stefan." I said, tears almost spilling from my eyes. He really was the old Stefan, so self-sacrificing!

He smiled. "Bye Elena. Be safe."

"Bye Stefan." I said quietly. He suddenly blurred into the shadows, smiling like the old Stefan.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-End of Elena's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I woke up huddled in the dirt with Damon's jacket under my head. Damon was next to me, sleeping peacefully. It was about the only time that his walls wear really down. Even when I thought his walls were down, I was always proved wrong when I saw him sleep. He just kind of hides some stuff when he's awake, almost subconsciously. Right now though, what I saw on his face was unbelievable.

He was smiling. He hardly ever smiled, only rarely and that was only when I was the only one around. What was he dreaming?

Suddenly his dark eyes opened and he saw me. His smile turned to that of humor and he stared at me. Ask if asking me what I was staring at. I blushed.

"What are you doing awake?" He asked quietly, moving over and wrapping his arms around me. I put my head on his chest and he rolled so that he was on his back and I was lying on top of him.

"I had the most wonderful dream ever." I said. It had been nice to see Stefan again, to get some closure.

"Really? Didn't people usually keep dreaming when they have a good dream and wake up when it's bad?"

"Stefan had to leave though. To go back to wherever he had come from."

"Ah, I should have figured."

"It was nice, we got some closure."

"That's good." He said. He nuzzled his face to my neck and I felt his lips on my throat. I smiled. He placed a kiss on my neck before I pulled away and pulled his lips to mine. He smiled in the middle of the kiss but he didn't pull away, which I was happy for.

"I love you Damon." I sighed out, lying my head back on his chest. I didn't expect him to return the phrase, he never did. I didn't doubt that he loved me, he just never said it. It probably had something to do with Stefan but I never asked. I figured if he wanted to talk about it, he would. But then again, Damon was the 'talk about my problems' kind of person. Oh well, I thought.

"I love you too Elena." Damon said and he placed a feather-light kiss on the top of my head. I whipped my head up and looked him square in the eye. He smiled a little and I was positively speechless.

"W-wh-what?" I finally got out. His smile got a little bigger and he pecked my lips.

"I said, 'I love you too Elena.'" He said. He said he loved me. Oh. My. Gosh.

I was practically beaming at him. I kissed him forehead, his cheeks, his eyelids, which he closed his eyes for, his nose and finally his lips. He responded instantly and pressed me closer to him. When we broke apart, I wasn't the only one smiling hugely.

"You need to get back to sleep." He finally said, gaining just enough of his composure back to downgrade his smile some but not make it disappear completely.

"Alright." I agreed, knowing it would be impossible to fight him. Plus I was tired but I was also had a lot of pent up energy. He had said he loved me. He has never said that. I'm so happy!

I laid my head back on his chest and even though I thought it was unlikely, sleep soon caught up to me and I fell asleep on Damon's chest, smiling like a complete idiot.

**Okay, this is the end of the chapter but this is what Damon was dreaming about.**

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Damon's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I was standing in the clearing that Klaus had been killed in. Only thing was, I wasn't alone.

Stefan was standing in front of me, smiling a little. "Hey Damon." He said.

"Hello Stefan." I said. He looked better, less crazy. Good, he was taking care of himself, wherever he was staying.

"It's been a year hasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes I believe it has." I said.

"Thank you again Damon."

"For what, killing you?"

"No, for taking care of Elena and for stopping me from killing her. I was out of my mind. If I had really killed her, I would have gone crazy with guilt and ended up killing myself anyway. So thank you."

I shrugged. "Yeah well, it's what brothers do I suppose. Keep each other from killing ex-girlfriends. Or fiancés."

"You don't have to put on the act Damon. I can see everything you and Elena do from Heaven. I even know what you're thinking........sometimes."

I gave him a crooked grin. "Really? What am I thinking now?" He rolled his eyes.

"I said sometimes." He paused for a second. "Damon?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You love Elena."

I froze. This was not something I wanted to get into with him. It might open old wounds.

He smiled at me. "You know, it means a lot if you voice it." He said.

"What?" I asked. He was confusing me.

"You should tell her that you love her." He said simply.

For the first time ever I was at a lost for words. Stefan was telling me to tell the woman he loved that I loved her. What does someone say to that?

"It's alright Damon. She loves you, you love her. I know that. Just tell her." He winked at me. "Trust me, it will make her happy. It will make you happy too."

I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the smile that came over my face. It was a real smile. One very few people ever saw. Actually Elena was the only one.

Stefan smiled. "Is that a smile on Damon's face? I didn't think he knew that facial feature." He said teasingly. I rolled my eyes but I could wipe that stupid grin off my face. I guess I was just happy to see the normal Stefan again. "I'm happy to see you too Damon." Stefan said. Great, now he really is reading my mind. "Only sometimes." He corrected.

"That doesn't help your case you know. Answering a question that I thought. Honestly."

Suddenly he looked kind of sad. "You have to go don't you?" I asked, though I wasn't that sad. I missed him a lot this last year but I was glad to see that he was alright and that he was taking care of himself. Well, and that he was his old self again, that was good too.

"Yeah." He said. "Thanks again Damon, and remember what I said. Trust me."

"I will Stefan. And I do." He smiled sadly.

"Thanks for that too."

"What this time?" I asked, faking exasperation.

"For believing in me. For believing that I could've changed."

"You could have." I said.

He shook his head slowly. "No I was too far gone. I see that now. I'm just glad you did what I asked. I really have to go now Damon."

"Alright, goodbye…………little brother." I said, the usual malice behind those words long forgotten. Right now the only feelings I had for my brother was sadness and, well, love.

"Goodbye big brother." Stefan said. And with that he disappeared into the darkness, smiling.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-End of Damon's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

**Alright, that's it folks! Hope you loved it! Please review! I'll try to come up with another Elena/Damon plot soon! I really hope I tied together any loose ends but if you have any questions just ask. Thanks so much for reading!**


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